Bria changed the subject. "How's Marla taking the news? Is she coming to grips with the fact that you all will never be together?"
"I don't know. She's closed herself off to me emotionally. I see Gracie, but she usually disappears into another room if I go over there. Or, she'll drop her by my place for a weekend, for example. When we all saw Shakespeare in the park, that was the last time we've actually interacted with each other in any kind of meaningful way."
"Maybe it's for the best, although I hope things get better. Gracie deserves it, and kids can sense tension," Bria pointed out.
"I know. And I plan to talk to her about it, but right now, I just want to give her some space. I know what it’s like to love someone who doesn't return those feelings," Gunner said simply with no trace of anger or bitterness in his voice.
"We salvaged the best thing about us Gunner – our friendship. And I couldn't be more grateful, especially on a day like today. Thank you for agreeing to come to this doctor's appointment with me. I get antsy going by myself, afraid that if I get some bad news I wouldn't be able to handle it."
"Happy to do it. I know Maya wouldn't have canceled if whatever it was wasn't super important."
"I know. And Carrington got the dates mixed up on his calendar. He's only on an overnight trip to Toronto, but he was beating himself up for not being here. He threatened to fire his secretary, can you believe?" Bria said.
"I don't blame him. I'd do the same."
"Gunner! You can't take away a person's livelihood because of a tiny little mistake like a mixed-up appointment. I told him he'd better not dare – and that I was gonna check too."
"Must be a female thing. I'm with your guy on this one."
"He's not my guy."
"Alright then, your baby daddy," Gunner laughed.
Bria punched him in the arm. "Stop it!"
"Why? I got a baby mama. Why can't you have a baby daddy?"
The driver let down the partition. "We're almost here, Ms. Michaels."
"Thank you," Bria sad.
"Fancy," Gunner whispered. "I could have taken you in my truck. I'm not used to being chauffeured around town."
"First, it would be hard for me to get up in that thing. And second, you're my support system. I need your undivided attention, which leaves no room for navigating the busy streets of New York City – in rush hour no less."
"You know, the more I think about it, the more I'm thinking you should marry this dude. You got the chauffeur, why not have the big-ole diamond by the guy who supplied said chauffeur. Luxury suits you. It always did," Gunner said, helping her from the backseat of the sleek, black town car.
"I have the most luxurious things a girl could ever have. A child I can't wait to bring into this world, and true friends like you," Bria said, stepping on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. "Now let's go hear what the doctor has to say about this little bundle," Bria smiled.
"I'll take it from here," Carrington said, his steely emerald gaze slicing into Gunner. A blast of jealous rage seized him seeing Bria with her ex.
"Bria," Gunner said, returning Carrington's gaze with a razor-sharp one of his own. He didn't want to cause a scene, but he wasn't about to leave Bria's side unless she wanted him to.
"Carrington what are you doing here? I though you were in Toronto."
"I booked a private flight in order to make it back in time. Obviously, I wasn't expected," he said, legs braced apart as if he was ready to throw, or deflect, a punch.
"It's not like ... I mean Gunner was just—"
"I see what your ex-husband is doing," Carrington said, cutting her short. "I see very clearly what both of you are doing. But the one thing you both seem to forget is that it's my child you're carrying. And no amount of wishing that it was his is going to change that fact."
"Carrington!" Bria said. "That's not necessary."
"Apparently it is," he said, his eyes leaving Gunner for the first time since they'd stepped out of the car. "It seems that I need to make it as clear as possible as often as possible – and in some concrete ways."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Are you threatening her?" Gunner said, taking a step towards Carrington.
"Gunner no!" Bria said.
"I don't make threats, Mr. Michaels."
"You had better pray not, because if you ever threaten her, you're going to have to deal with me, and no amount of money in the world will be able to save your ass," Gunner said, as calmly as if they were discussing the weather.
Two rams sussing each other out for a fight. In the middle of Park Avenue. On a busy Thursday afternoon. "Have the two of you lost your minds? Have you forgotten that there's a child's life hanging in the balance here while you two run around pissing on trees to stake your territory? Makes me wonder what I ever saw in either of you!" Bria said, turning to go into the doctor's office.
They could stay out here and kill each other for all she cared!
Chapter 46
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT all about today Carrington?"
"We can talk about this rationally. There's no need for you to get upset – per doctor's orders, remember?" he said.
"You should have thought about that before you pulled that little stunt today," Bria said, taking her voice down an octave as she cradled her stomach on the couch in his living room. From the couch to the bed. From the bed to the couch. Lord she wanted to sit any place else one of these days!
"I wasn't aware that wanting to attend a doctor's appointment with the expectant mother of my child was a stunt," he said evasively.
"If you don't want me to get upset, don't patronize me," Bria said. "You could have called to let me know you were on the way."
"I thought of that. But poor misguided me, I thought I'd surprise you. I thought it might bring you some sense of calm having me there. I thought I was doing a good deed. ... I told you once never to substitute him for me again – especially when it comes to my child," Carrington said. "I meant it," he finished defiantly.
And that's the part that had made him the angriest, Carrington thought. She seemed to be doing everything in her power to involve her ex in his child's life, while he was doing everything he could to be as connected as possible.
As soon as he'd learned the real time of her doctor's appointment, he'd canceled his meeting and chartered a private jet back to New York. He knew how frightened she was every time they went to the doctor. He knew because he was just as scared – the sense of panic waiting for the doctor to tell them whether their child was developing normally, or if they were going to have to rip the baby from her womb. That was how she had described it, and what had made him know how petrified she was.
"WHAT IF THE DOCTOR comes out and tells me that they're admitting me; that they're going to rip the baby out of me? What if its lungs still aren't formed or there are other problems" I couldn't handle it Carrington. I ... It would be all my fault. I must carry this baby to term. I must," she said, burying her head in his chest.
"Shhh, shhh cherie. You will," he said. "You will," he said, pressing her head to the center of his chest as he kissed the top of it."
IT HAD HAPPENED ON their first follow-up appointment after finding out about the preeclampsia. The panic in her eyes had been almost too much for him to bear. He had held her, rocking her in his arms until the doctor came out and gave them the good news.
Bria had literally sagged in his arms in relief. He had held her. He'd held both of them. And that's when he'd vowed to never miss a doctor's appointment – under any circumstances. Only, she obviously didn't need him. She'd found comfort in the arms of her ex. "Did you plan this Bria? Intentionally give me the wrong date so that you could have your ex accompany—"
"Don't you dare finish that thought," Bria said, cutting him off. "I would never do something so under-handed. And the fact that you think I would proves how little you know about me," Bria said. "I'm going to my room. I'm tired."
"Tired. Or tired of trying to justify what happened
today?" he said, one eyebrow lifting as he waited for her answer.
"Both. And for the record, I have nothing to justify," she said, and walked slowly down the hall to her room.
BRIA TOSSED AND TURNED that night. The tension living with Carrington was becoming too much to bear. She was deathly afraid of losing the baby, leaving her with one only one option.
Chapter 47
CARRINGTON:
My number one priority is delivering a healthy baby. I don't feel like I can do that living here any longer. So I've gone home. I'm not trying to hide. I'm not trying to cut you out of this pregnancy. I just want to be stress free.
Feel free to come by my place if you want to talk – reasonably, rationally, without anger.
Please understand. This is not about you. It's not even about me. It's about my unborn child. That's all I have room to worry about right now. Everything else must – and will – take a back seat.
Hoping you understand.
Bria
CARRINGTON READ BRIA's note at least half a dozen times. He was part shocked, part angry, and wholly ... devastated.
My unborn child.
"It's our unborn child, dammit!" he swore.
He hadn't even fully entered his suite before he knew that she wasn't there. Inexplicably, he'd felt the isolation. The emptiness had settled in like a dark cloud before a storm. The heart of what he thought of as home these days was gone. Nothing survives without a heartbeat. And Bria had taken her heart with him. Always would; wherever she went. That was the part that cut.
A part of him had hoped that having her under his roof, she'd never leave – that he'd somehow figure out a way to make her stay; to make her want to stay.
But he was wrong. As usual, he was wrong about so much when it came to Bria. And it was about time he started to accept that.
Somehow, some way, he had to figure out how to let her go and face what they really were to each other: co-parents, as she so succinctly described their relationship at every opportunity.
We – Bria and Carrington – don't exist, her every signal said. Only the child between us does.
And he realized that that would have to be enough.
Now, he just had to figure out a way to accept it.
Chapter 48
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU talked me into letting you do this," Maya said, her lips pursed in a bow of concern.
"You can't let me do anything Maya. I know my body better than anybody, and one more day of bed rest was going to drive me criminally insane. All I'm doing is picking up a few files from the office. It's not like I'm loading a semi truck for heaven's sake."
"But your doctor said bed rest Bria."
"I've gotten plenty of that. I had mild preeclampsia Maya. And I've done everything the doctor said and have responded to treatment well. And really, this is one of the best things I could be doing. I am still on the team of that big case I was assigned, and I want to be up to speed once my maternity leave is up."
"That's still going to be in litigation when your maternity leave is up?" Maya asked.
"Most likely, yes. These cases can take a few years to wind themselves through the court system."
"I see," Maya said.
"Besides, I was going crazy in that apartment, especially now that I'm back living by myself. It felt like the walls were closing in. I need some air. And a quick trip to the office to get these files so I can do some reading is just the thing I need to keep my mind off bed rest. After this, I swear, I'm headed right back home to put my feet up. Scouts honor."
"I know you are because I'm going to be right there to make sure you do," Maya said.
"You do look good," Maya said.
"For a seven-months pregnant woman who waddles when she walks, you mean."
"No," Maya said seriously. "For a woman bringing a life into this world. Really, you're glowing Bria. Pregnancy suits you."
"I don't know about all that – between the swollen feet and feeling like I have to pee every three seconds, I'm thinking this is going to be my first and only child."
"Hmmm, didn't your baby daddy say the same thing? Be careful what you say. The universe is always ready to throw a monkey wrench into your plans just for grins and giggles."
"Universe be damned," Bria said, as she approached her office door. "Carrington Shelby may have gotten the surprise of his life with this pregnancy, but I can promise you, fate will not throw me a curve ball like that. Women are the ones who have to carry the child. There will be no more slip-ups on this end."
Maya laughed. "I can barely believe you got caught this time."
"You?!" Bria said. "Trust me, nobody was more shocked than me. I'm going on the pill after this baby comes, even though I don't foresee having sex again anytime in the next millennium. ... Now, where did I put that file?" Bria mused as she thumbed through a drawer beside her desk.
"Y'all still keep physical files," Maya asked. "I would think that everything would be digitized these days."
"Almost everything is, but I keep paper copies; easier to read. I hate reading on a screen all the time. It's bad for your eyes."
"Excuse me," a young woman said from the door of Bria's office.
"Yes," Bria said, a familiarity emanating from her, although she was sure she'd never met her.
"I knocked, but no one answered," the stranger said, almost apologetically.
"It's okay. When Maya and I get to yakking ..." Bria explained, letting the sentiment trail off. "Can I help you?"
"Are you Bria Michaels?"
"Yes," Bria asked, more curious now. Who was this young woman, and what did she want?
Maya didn't bother to hide her curiosity.
"You're involved with Carrington Shelby?"
"I'm ... I don't mean to be rude, but—"
"You must be wondering who I am?" the young woman said.
Ya damn skippy! Maya's gaze said.
Bria instinctively grabbed her stomach. Her heart raced. Was this woman involved with Carrington? How did she know about me? What does she know about me? Does she know I'm carrying Carrington's child?
A kaleidoscope of questions exploded in Bria's suddenly light head.
"You might say that," Bria said to the young woman's question, valiantly trying to place why she should know this woman – because she was certain she did somehow.
Chapter 49
"WELL THIS IS A SURPRISE," Rita said.
"A pleasant one, I hope," Carrington said, handing her the bottle of wine he'd brought.
"You know it is," Rita said, kissing Carrington on the cheek and taking the bottle from him. "Stuart, guess who's here," she called to her husband.
"Well well well, finally stopped by to check on ye ole godparents," Stuart noted. "Ahhh, I know that look," he continued, taking one look at Carrington. "Shall we discuss over dinner, or would you like to speak in private."
"What do you mean?" Carrington said, surprised. "I haven't seen you for a bit and I thought it would be nice to have a leisurely dinner with my godfather and godmother."
"I've known you since you were a snot-nose, determined chap who got into everything imaginable. Why do you think he made me your godfather. He knew no one could handle you like I could. And most of all, he knew no one would care as much as I do; as much as we both do," he said, referring to his wife. "What's bothering you Carrington? Is the baby alright? The mother?"
"Am I that transparent?"
"No. I'm just that old. There are certain things you see as you get older that are as old as time. And love problems happen to be one of them."
"Come. Sit. Eat," Rita said. "There's nothing a good talk over a good meal can't cure."
"I wish it was that easy Rita."
"SO SHE LEFT YOUR PLACE. And you're worried about her living alone?" Stuart asked.
"Yes. No. Not exactly. ... I hired a nurse. Put her on 24-hour standby. And she swore she'd call if there was a problem. And thankfully, she's fine physically. So that's not the problem."
&nb
sp; "Then what is the problem?" Stuart persisted. "It's obviously eating at you."
At Carrington's tormented silence, Stuart continued. "Whatever it is, it's obvious you love her. Have you told her that?"
Rita chimed in. "You haven't, have you?"
"That's easier said than done," Carrington finally said.
"I know you may dismiss what I'm about to say, but I'm going to say it anyway," Rita continued. "The way I see it is this – she could have just as easily told you that the baby was her ex-husband's. You would have been none the wiser. But she told you the truth. It could be because she wants to build a life with you, or it could be because she felt you had a right to know. Either way, she was honest with you. Don't you owe her the same kind of honesty?"
"I wish it was that easy," Carrington said.
"You keep saying that, but the reality is, the truth is easy. What's hard is living with the consequences of it. You love this woman. She has the power to hurt you and that scares the crap outta you. It always amazes me how men can go to war without hesitation, but let them fall in love. They'd rather cut off their right arm than admit it. It's time for you to stop running from love Carrington."
"I haven't," he said.
"The hell you haven't," Stuart insisted. "Rita's right. And I blame your mother and father – god rest their souls."
"They have nothing to do with this."
"They have everything to do with it, Stuart said. "They had the perfect love. And once your mother died, your father never made room for anyone else. You grew up seeing that, and I think it’s made you gun shy. There are no guarantees in love son. None. And if you find someone you can get it half-way right with, grab that and hold onto it. This woman is having your child. I can't think of a better reason to give love a chance."
Love after Betrayal: An Interracial, Billionaire Romance Page 21
